在英国女皇伊丽莎白二世于当地时间9月8日逝世后，虽然不少英国人都在悼念他们享年96岁的君主的离世，但也有一些西方学者把目光投向了她遗留下来的一个充满争议的遗产：英国的王室制度。其中，研究英国历史和世界历史的美国哈佛大学知名历史学教授马娅·亚桑诺夫，就给美国《纽约时报》撰文一篇，谈及了她对英女王逝世一事的看法。
B | 这篇文章的标题是：哀悼女王，而不是她的帝国（Mourn the Queen, Not Her Empire）。
Screenshot from the video of Al Jazeera's interview with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
After Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim recently reaffirmed Taiwan is part of China during an interview, the Taiwan island's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was clearly rattled.
Experts said this only underscores the one-China principle has long been an established international consensus, and that the more the "pro-independence" DPP peddles narratives of "international support for Taiwan" and stirs up trouble, the more developments will emerge that run counter to its "Taiwan independence" agenda.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Taiwan's regional external affairs department called Anwar's recent remarks on Taiwan "false," claiming that Answer openly seeks to justify the mainland's use of force to unify Taiwan.
In a video interview with Al Jazeera, released on August 16, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said, "I see Taiwan as part of China, period. You may disagree with there are some excesses. Yes, express your view, but it must be in the context. It is one China. It is accepted by all."
In response to the question on that "China has said that if peaceful reunification doesn't work, they reserve the right to use force. If it comes to that, would you condemn them?" Anwar responded by drawing an analogy with Malaysia. He said that if any part of Malaysia sought to break away, it would be his responsibility to preserve the country's territorial integrity.
When the host asked, "So, you would use force?" Anwar answered, "Yes," adding that otherwise the country would risk becoming fragmented.
Anwar's remarks, including those on China's use of all means to resolve the Taiwan question, highlight the firm international consensus on the one-China principle and reaffirm the basic principles enshrined in the UN Charter and international law, Zheng Jian, a professor at the Graduate Institute for Taiwan Studies at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
Zheng noted that the Taiwan question is China's internal affair. A sovereign state has the right to safeguard its territorial integrity. Condoning separatist acts in Taiwan region would also set a problematic precedent for other countries dealing with their own separatist issues.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Taiwan regional authorities claimed that Anwar's support for the Chinese mainland could negatively affect the confidence of Taiwan businesses investing in Malaysia.
The Taiwan regional authorities' "threat" of possible economic and trade losses for Malaysia carries limited weight and amounts largely to bluffing. Zheng noted that Taiwan island does not control any critical lifelines of Malaysia's economy, while Malaysia has alternative channels and partners. Such threats therefore amount to little more than verbal posturing.
The Taiwan regional authorities' fierce but useless overreaction stems from the heavy reliance of "Taiwan independence" forces on external support. Once international statements contradicting their narrative gain traction within Taiwan, their domestic propaganda - such as claims of "widespread international support" for Taiwan - risks unraveling, prompting their sharp backlash.
Also, aside from the Malaysian prime minister's recent remarks, the joint exercises recently held by China and Indonesia have also dealt a blow to the DPP authorities. As key countries along the "first island chain", their moves have opened a rift in the denial-and-deterrence defense system built by the US, Japan and Taiwan island, delivering a major strategic blow to "Taiwan independence" forces, said Zheng.
"The more the DPP provokes and hypes up issues, the more international developments unfavorable to 'Taiwan independence' will emerge. If the DPP continues down the doomed and erroneous path of 'independence,' there will be more occasions in the future when it finds itself rattled," Zheng said.
。不过，由于这篇文章相当长，耿直哥这里仅简单介绍一下文章的大致内容。
C | 简单来说，亚桑诺夫的这篇文章大致可以分为三部分。
D | 在第一部分，亚桑诺夫先是在英国历史的大背景下，客观地回顾了伊丽莎白二世的一生，并肯定了她在位期间取得的一些成绩，认为这位英国在位时间最长的君主是值得人们悼念的。（截图来自亚桑诺夫在《纽约时报》上撰写的文章，下同）不过，在文章的中间部分，亚桑诺夫话锋一转，开始讲述起了自伊丽莎白二世继位以来，英帝国被她的个人光环所遮盖住的黑历史，比如上世纪中叶马来西亚、肯尼亚、塞浦路斯、也门等英国前殖民地的“总督”对当地独立运动的血腥镇压。这位历史学教授表示，由于这些英帝国的黑历史很多都被殖民地的官员们给销毁或封存了起来，所以很多英国人自己也不清楚这些事。一些英国政客和社会活动人士虽然曾公开过这些黑历史并谴责过英帝国的暴行，但也未能引起广泛的社会关注。
E | 至于英女王是否知情，亚桑诺夫这里给出的一个观点是：“我们或许永远不会知道女王是否知道这些以她的名义犯下的罪行”。在第三部分，亚桑诺夫又将视角投向了21世纪，指出英国王室与新千年也越发地格格不入，比如英国的社会和文化正在变得越来越多元化，有色人种也越来越多，2011年的人口普查结果是7名英国人里就有1人是有色人种，可英国的钱币上却仍然只印有这位白人女王的头像。又比如越来越多的英国前殖民地开始要求英国为之前的殖民罪行做出赔偿，一些英联邦国家则人心思变，有的干脆公开宣布要走共和制的道路，与英国王室决裂。而在谈及英国自脱欧以来出现的一系列社会问题时，亚桑诺夫更认为英国女王的长寿反而令内忧外患的英国更容易陷入对“第二个伊丽莎白时代”不切实际的幻想以及对英帝国时期的怀念。英国自脱欧以来的首相也在迎合着这种情绪，从约翰逊到特拉斯都在鼓吹着诸如“全球英国”（Global Britain）这种带有对英帝国时期眷恋意味的政治口号。“现在她走了，英国帝国主义的王室制度也必须终结了”，亚桑诺夫在文章的结尾处写道。
F | 她还认为，继位的英国国王查尔斯三世应该从将英国王室授予杰出人士的“大英帝国勋章”（Order of the British Empire）改名开始，让英国王室做出真正顺应历史的改变，大大减少以前那种奢靡的王室盛典，让王室逐渐向北欧斯堪的纳维亚国家那种更加平民化、象征性大于实际意义的王室转变。“这将一个值得庆祝的结局”，亚桑诺夫写道。
G | 最后值得一提的是，虽然亚桑诺夫的文章并不是在攻击伊丽莎白二世，而是在客观肯定伊丽莎白二世的同时，提出为什么英国王室已经不再适合这个时代，可这篇文章还是深深刺激到了英国网民的情感。在境外的社交网络上，大量英国网民就对此文表达了强烈不满，认为亚桑诺夫在伊丽莎白二世刚去世不久就写出这样的文章，是对逝者的不尊重。一些英国的保守派网民还认为立场偏自由派的《纽约时报》是“故意”用这样一个文章来恶心伊丽莎白二世的。这些人甚至还给英国的殖民主义进行辩护，说恰恰是英国的殖民才令许多殖民地得到了“高度”的“发展”和“进步”。但也一些网民很认同亚桑诺夫这篇文章的观点，并认为这篇文章值得一读。
H | 不过颇为搞笑的是，当《纽约时报》中文网在9月13日晚间将这篇文章进行了摘编和翻译后，一些海外的中文账号也纷纷跳出来攻击起了该报。而且他们中不仅有人也在为英国的殖民主义进行辩护，甚至还给《纽约时报》以及文章的作者亚桑诺夫扣上了一个“通共通中”的帽子。
I | 这大概就是“皇帝不急，（外国）太监急”吧？
